The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) invoked clause 4.3 of the employment contract between it and Mr Stephen Keshi and summarily terminated his appointment as the Super Eagles coach. By that action, the NFF drew the curtain on a somewhat glorious era of indigenous football coaching at the senior national level. Keshi had succeeded where others failed. He took the national team, the Super Eagles, to the pinnacle of continental football by winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa in 2013 and followed it up with a passable showing at the World Cup in Brazil last year.
Then he ran out of steam. To the consternation of all concerned, particularly millions of soccer enthusiasts all over the federation, the Super Eagles failed to qualify for AFCON 2015 in Equatorial Guinea. Those who had sung Keshi’s praises when he won the continental trophy now insisted that the former Super Eagles captain-turned-coach had to be nailed. But rather than take the hint and leave the stage, Keshi reportedly pulled a few strings of his own which ensured his re-appointment but, paradoxically, it also laid the foundation for his eventual disgrace.
The incidence of Keshi’s name appearing among the coaches being considered to manage the national team of Cote d’Ivoire was the last straw that proved conclusively to the NFF bosses that Keshi was lacking in the required commitment to achieve the federation’s objectives. This was not helped by the football house’s chagrin that Keshi listed a local non-league player for his first match in the new era against Chad and even handed the rookie the highly revered number 10 jersey donned by the mercurial international, Jay Jay Okocha. He was probably the only person who did not see his fall coming.
Now what next? The NFF has decided to try out Sunday Oliseh who captained the Eagles after Keshi. Oliseh has also coached a few lower league teams abroad. But in terms of coaching pedigree, he cannot undo the thongs of Keshi’s sandals. However, he is seen as a more technically adept individual who can read a game. One of the complaints against Nigerian coaches in international tournaments is that they hardly know what to do to rescue a game when the chips are down. It is in that department that Oliseh is thought to have an edge over Keshi. His analyses during the AFCON in South Africa, which the Super Eagles won, showed that he could read games professionally, but whether he can translate this into practice on the field of play remains to be seen. He is taking up one of the most stressful jobs in the land. Nigerians are hungry for positive results. It is the extent to which Oliseh and his assistants are able to blend old players with new ones to form a formidable team that would determine the length of his stay on the job. We wish him the best of luck.
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